E2TG 10/05/2020 - Music City Monday - Cold Mix (Blue Neon Remix)

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Well, we are back after the weekend. Fortunately, nothing of substance has occurred in the world since we were last together....  

Crazy times for sure... I am struggling to see the path forward from here - except, I do know it starts with a decisive electoral victory over evil. Today is last day to register to vote in Tennessee for November 3.  I urge everyone reading this to make sure you are registered and then make a plan as to how you are going to vote and vote safely. 

Before we get to today's Music City Monday Shuffle - we need to pick back up on our recap of this week's Featured Friday Playlist.  Today - Songs 9-12!

9. "Yellow Frames" by The Jensen Sisters

To start things off we have the title track to the debut album by this young Minnesota based country duo. Kendra and Kansas Jensen are just 17 and 20 years old. They were named new artist of the year at the Midwest CMA awards, and they recently celebrated the third anniversary of their Gypsy Outlaw Radio show. 

10. "Dangerously High" by The Wheel Workers

Up next, we have a track from the newest album by the long-running Texas rock band. It also happens to be their oldest album. I remastered version of their heretofore unreleased 2003 debut album.  At the time the album was made, the band was knows as The Wheel Works, and they were based in Austin.  They are now based in Houston.  I had not read the e-mail before I listened, I don't believe I would have suspected this was made seventeen years ago. Great stuff.

11. "Brain Dead" by Worthless Commodity

Music comes to be in a variety of different ways. Sometimes, professional publicists send me e-mails or even CDs, back when I went to shows are the regular, I would sometimes discover a band at $2 Tuesday or opening for a band I already knew. Sometimes musicians post about their friends.  And sometimes, my best friend and long-time musical partner in crime meets two kids at a comic convention in Fort Collins, Colorado and tells me about their band.  Anyway, that is how I first heard about Worthless Commodity - a young hardcore band from Fort Collins. This is a track from their 1/2 of a split EP. Their songs are short and profanity-laced and a lot of fun. 

12. "In the City" by Leron Thomas (Feat. Iggy Pop)

A few week's back, we featured Leron Thomas' stunning single "Endicott". Now, the album, More Elevator Music is out.  This track features Thomas' previous collaborator Iggy Pop, and it is an equally stunning track. I don't unnecessarily kick myself for being late to the game on great artists, but I do feel grateful when I do finally catch up. Leron Thomas is fantastic. 

Tomorrow - songs 13-16

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 4/27/2020 - Music City Monday - Dark Glasses Mix (Cold Remix)

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Time marches on... we are now into the final week of April, and although so the decision to start reopening some things is happening in some areas, we are still a long way off from many music related functions from opening, and that is assuming that we do not have a resurgence in cases.

I know many people and small businesses are suffering. For those us who are faring relatively well, the need can be overwhelming.  My best advice is to support the venues and artists that mean the most to you and do so in a way that makes sense for your situation. I have tried (emphasis on tried) to match my giving to the money I would have been spending if I was able to out. Everyone's situation is different, and so there is no wrong answer here.

Mostly, what I want my readers to hear - is that regardless of the orders and openings in your area, it is important to be safe and to still stay home as much as you can.  No matter which models or philosophies that you chose to believe, it is clear that we are not at the end of this pandemic, and the possibility exists for a comeback. At a minimum follow the guidelines of health officials regarding masks and social distancing. We are all restless and eager to get back to "normal", but to rush this will only delay things and will likely cost people their health and their lives.

Meanwhile, I am going to do my part to feature some new and not so new music here from the comfort of my home.

Time for another Music City Monday!

    Featured Friday Playlist

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Colloid Suspension Mix

Hey ho! It's the final day of May.  Remember tomorrow we will introduce a new feature on Ear to the Ground which will take the place of the ever popular Band of the Week, and hopefully move us forward in our mission to introduce you to the many talented artists putting out music around the world.  In the meantime, stay tuned today, I'm going to be posting our Band of the Month poll for May, and I also have a free MP3 of a brand new song.

Back to a real live music shuffle - the air felt good this morning, but there was definitely quite a bit of humidity in the air.  Storms are forecast for this afternoon, and as per usual, I am sans umbrella (did I ever mention that I hate umbrellas?) so I'm looking forward to the possibility of walking through a downpour this afternoon!

On to our shuffle:

First up:

I presented this song a couple of weeks ago in my post about The Bluefields.  Bluefield, Joe Blanton, before he was in Royal Court of China, was part of a local Nashville Thrash band called, The Enemy.  Today's song is by The Enemy and according to the tag information on the download I got from Nashville 80s Rock - dot - net  , it is from a Cassette release called Tijuana Go! which was also the title of a song on Royal Court of China's second album, Geared and Primed. Anyway, the song is Jesus Rides a UFO and I must say hearing this song always brings me back to the mid-80s.

Get the MP3 for Jesus Rides a UFO 

Bonus: Here's the video for Take Me Down from Royal Court of China

Next you we offer you another track from the fabulous Jo Wymer, a bluesy, rockin' lady from New Jersey.  That Kiss is on Jo's 2011 album Living with Scars.

 

Bonus Video: Here is Jo Wymer doing Dirty Secrets another track from the album

Finally, we present the title track to the latest album by an amazing singer/songwriter who happens to share a first name with one of my daughters.  Young Man in America- the song - is sprawling, captivating and memorable.  Young Man in America  - the album - is a remarkable achievement.

 

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The Bluefields - In-Store @ Grimey's - 5/17/2012

First of all apologies for the crappy cell phone pictures, there were people there with better camera equipment who took better pictures, so hunt them down.




The Bluefields have this released their first album, and they were booked to do an in-store performance at Grimey's New & Preloved Music (one of the best record stores in the world - btw).  

Warner E. Hodges, Joe Blanton & Dan Baird

Dan Baird played bass and sang

So I posted a brief commentary on Facebook on this show as soon as I got home. 

Words can not express how awesome it was seeing The Bluefields this evening at Grimey's New & Preloved Music.Warner E. Hodges Dan Baird and Joe Blanton brought the house down. - oh and I will try to find words to express how awesome it was tomorrow.

After I posted it, actually just before (as you will see from the last line), I thought, well I'm a writer and a music blogger so I best find some words to express how awesome it was.  Well it took me a couple of extra days, but here goes nothing.


When I approached Grimey's, I saw the band standing out front. I got there early, and I had some time to think about this event. 


First of all, if you don't know, I need to tell you about the Band:


The Bluefields are Warner E. Hodges (Jason & the Scorchers, Homemade Sin), Joe Blanton (The Enemy, Royal Court of China) and Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites, Homemade Sin)




Warner E. Hodges :


Memories: Seeing the Scorchers play Labor Day 1985 at Cat's Records.  Such an amazing experience. The Movement (Richie Owens band who played one of my favorite song's Lost Horizon) and the later Tim Kreckel and the Sluggers  opened the show and were both amazing, but the night belonged to the Scorchers.  From the first explosive note, you could see where that the name was appropriate.  The stage burned, and every moment was a joyous and infectious blur of twirling microphone and slinging guitar.

In the later part of the 80s, I got really into the local music scene in Nashville.  Bands like The Questionnaires and Walk the West and others.  I was still going to school in Cookeville, but whenever we could we would drive up to Nashville and catch a show (it was usually weekends at the Cannery) and at almost every show I attended, Warner Hodges joined the band for the encore and it was always the Rolling Stone's Honky Tonk Women.

Flashforward:  2012 - I got to stand next to Warner's mother, Blanche (a musician herself) and watch as Warner and the Bluefields tore it up. I got to tell her how much her son's music had meant to me over the years, and she told me that he originally had not shown an interest in the guitar and that he had not begun playing guitar until he was ten.    Warner plays with such intensity and yet such ease, and he flashes this genuine and warm smile periodically throughout the show.


Joe Blanton:


Memories:  Around the same time that I saw the Scorchers for the first time, I remember hearing this local band on WRVU (sadly off the dial now) - The Enemy had this one song, Jesus Rides a U.F.O. that I loved. I remember going to see R.E.M. at Vanderbilt in November of 1985, and a friend pointing out the members of The Enemy in attendance.

MP3: The Enemy - Jesus Rides a U.F.O.

A few years later (very few) The Enemy broke up and out of the ashes came Royal Court of China. To me Royal Court of China always had a larger than life feel.  They played blistering hard rock suffused with a Southern Gothic spirit.  Joe Blanton's voice I remember most and the perfect blend of the two styles of music.  RCC got signed to a major label and made an amazing debut record.  After that, the band split with a couple of members forming The Shakers who took the Southern Gothic mysticism to new heights while Joe and some others carried on as Royal Court of China and made a stunning hard rock album.  I loved The Shakers and the hard rock RCC album, but I always missed that perfect fusion of the original lineup.  Still Joe Blanton's guitar and vocals were always amazing.

Flashforward 2012 - Joe Blanton still has an amazing rock and roll voice, and he can play guitar pretty well, too.  Before the show, it was clear that he was the detail man of the band - setting up video cameras.


Dan Baird:


Memories:  I don't remember the year exactly - maybe 86? But, this "new" band started getting tons of airplay on WRVU.  The Georgia Satellites.  They reminded me of the Scorchers in a way, but it was different, too. Then, I heard The Song, and damn if it wasn't stuck in my head all the damn time.  RVU played it to death, but I never got sick of it.  This had happened before with songs I heard on WRVU - Peter Case's Walk in the Woods comes immediately to mind.  But, then this funny thing happened.  Suddenly, this song began to get airplay on commercial stations and on MTV (and yes kids, MTV used to play music videos).  And wouldn't you know it, this song made it to number one and Keep Your Hands to Yourself became and remains a iconic Rock n Roll song. The band ended up on Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve.

Dan Baird has been making music, great music ever since.  As a solo artist and with his band Homemade Sin (of which Warner is a member).

Flashforward 2012 - When these three guitarists formed a band, Dan Baird got volunteered to play bass. Dan Baird, who I think has one of the most distinctive voices in rock, joked repeated about his voice and his ability to play the bass.  As I've before and I say again, I am a non-musician music lover, and so my take on music is always much more emotional than technical. So, I don't know how Dan Baird's bass playing would be considered by a bass player, but I can say that the whole band sounded great to me.

Overall, my overall impression was of these three world-weary musicians who have seen the highs and lows of a life in music and press on because it is who they are. What I heard in the songs of the Bluefields from their debut, Pure, was maybe not the pure youthful, reckless country soul of that early Scorchers show, but truthful, direct songs that told stories that we all know so well.  What I saw, was these veteran musicians having fun doing what they love.  And what I felt was truly blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to witness it and to shake the hands of these men whose music made up such large part of my life.